The boy, whose name was not released by police or school officials, is accused of sexually assaulting at least 10 boys in his class.

The student, who is too young to face criminal charges in Massachusetts, even as a juvenile, was a student at the Fuller Meadow School. In an e-mail to parents, Creeden said the “aggressor” has been removed from the classroom.

“He was pulling kids’ pants down, threatening to beat them up if they said anything to any adult and touching them,” said the parent of an alleged victim, who wished to remain anonymous. “He was massaging my son, asking him to pull his pants down or he was going to beat him up.”

At a raucous public meeting Tuesday, during which police had to calm the crowd, parents accused Principal Malvena Baxter of knowing about the abuse a month ago. The school said it became aware of the incidents a week and a half ago and notified parents on Friday.

“A lot of parents that have first-graders are upset. They don’t like that it was hush-hush,” parent Jeanie Gioioso said.

Police said the incidents may have started as physical bullying, progressed into sexual molestation and ended with the boy allegedly threatening his victims to keep quiet.

“We are continuing to reach out to parents and guardians to identify any additional children who may have experienced an incident of inappropriate physical contact of a sexual nature,” Creeden wrote in his e-mail.

Under Massachusetts law, no one under 7 years old can be charged with a crime. Some of the alleged victims’ parents said that is not what they wanted in any case.

“I don’t necessarily believe that any of the parents there have any interest in persecuting a 6-year-old. It’s more the negligence of the school. They didn’t deal with it and just put a lot of other kids in harm’s way,” said the father of an alleged victim.MIDDLETON, Mass. — A 6-year-old first-grader in Middleton is accused of molesting fellow classmates while the teacher’s back was turned, Boston TV station WCVB reported.

The boy, whose name was not released by police or school officials, is accused of sexually assaulting at least 10 boys in his class.

The student, who is too young to face criminal charges in Massachusetts, even as a juvenile, was a student at the Fuller Meadow School. In an e-mail to parents, Creeden said the “aggressor” has been removed from the classroom.

“He was pulling kids’ pants down, threatening to beat them up if they said anything to any adult and touching them,” said the parent of an alleged victim, who wished to remain anonymous. “He was massaging my son, asking him to pull his pants down or he was going to beat him up.”

At a raucous public meeting Tuesday, during which police had to calm the crowd, parents accused Principal Malvena Baxter of knowing about the abuse a month ago. The school said it became aware of the incidents a week and a half ago and notified parents on Friday.

“A lot of parents that have first-graders are upset. They don’t like that it was hush-hush,” parent Jeanie Gioioso said.

Police said the incidents may have started as physical bullying, progressed into sexual molestation and ended with the boy allegedly threatening his victims to keep quiet.

“We are continuing to reach out to parents and guardians to identify any additional children who may have experienced an incident of inappropriate physical contact of a sexual nature,” Creeden wrote in his e-mail.

Under Massachusetts law, no one under 7 years old can be charged with a crime. Some of the alleged victims’ parents said that is not what they wanted in any case.

“I don’t necessarily believe that any of the parents there have any interest in persecuting a 6-year-old. It’s more the negligence of the school. They didn’t deal with it and just put a lot of other kids in harm’s way,” said the father of an alleged victim.Creeden said the boy was given a 10-day suspension and was placed in an alternative education facility. He said the school will review its internal policies about communicating with parents.